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Wednesday, 14 November 2012

The Coal Shed / Brighton

Who are they?

The Coal Shed is a
lovely little bistro style restaurant, nestled in an unassuming
street off of Brighton's busy West Street. An independent outfit,
they proclaim themselves specialists of grilled meat and fish and
their menu reflects not only their specialities but also their
location on the south coast, with lots of locally sourced seafood,
steaks and ribs on offer. Their burger had received some notable
local press coverage, so when I found myself in Brighton on work, I
had a chance to see what all the fuss is about.

Thoughts

Arriving early on a
mild November evening, the Coal Shed was pretty empty with just us
and a few other couples dotted about the restaurant at least this
gave us a chance to chat with staff who were all too keen help and
provide suggestions.

The Coal Shed burger
itself is a 250g prime steak burger in a bun with lettuce, onion, gherkin,
tomatoes and a relish. As for extras, including cheese, bacon, fried
egg and mushroom, these can be specified when ordering and the burger
comes paired with their special beef dripping chips (more on the
chips shortly). On the recommendation of the waiter, I went for a
cheese and bacon burger, which would also make a good comparison to
others I have tried. It duly arrived on a wooden platter; a hot tower of a
meal with a huge wooden skewer keeping the whole thing together, with
a bowl of the signature chips alongside.

The chips deserve an
entire paragraph of their own; chunky, home made and have been fried
well to leave them crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. But
it is the effect of cooking them with beef dripping, which works quietly in the background with
every bite, that makes the fries something special. It reminds me of
the beef gravy you get with a Sunday roast but here it is not
overpowering to either the potato or the burger and compliments the
intense flavours of the burger itself.

Speaking of which, the burger had been cooked exactly as requested (medium rare), leaving the meat
cooked on the outside and incredibly tender in the inside. The taste was slightly smokey with a hickory flavouring or something similar and melted in the mouth, with the crispy bacon and melted cheese a nice accompaniment to the meat. The bun was a crispy affair and its reinforced composition held the whole burger together nicely. There is no doubt that there's a decent bit of steak there and that it is well cooked, the only drawback being that the crumbly nature of the burger is a double edged sword. It melts in the mouth but doesn't make it easy to eat either with knife and fork or your hands.

Conclusion

The Coal Shed have a good set of skills for making burgers and their minute steaks, squid and look appetising enough to come back for as well. A rival for the great Byron burger? Perhaps not, but it's the closest I've been to it. A strong contender for the best burger I have had outside of London.